Drat!

My internet just pooped out. I thought for sure I'd get to log off and go to bed, which is all I've wanted to do today. This baby is sucking all my energy and brain away from me. It'll be worth it in the long run, but I forgot to go to the bank today so I could pay bills. Um, hello??

I've been sleeping a lot today and just haven't felt well -- I'm to the worst part of my morning sickness, and it'll just keep getting worse for 2 or 3 more weeks. The medication they give me so I'm not *as* sick makes me super sleepy, which is nice on the one hand because I can sleep through the worst of it, but bad on the other. I was only awake for about 6 hours today until time to get ready for work, and most of those 6 hours were spent in the car with DisGrace and Dizzy and Little Mister, lunching and erranding.

At any rate, I really don't feel well tonight, and usually when the internet poops out around now, I just end up having to log off for the night because our podunk internet company doesn't really have 24/7 service. I did what they always tell me to do (which never works) and rebooted the hub.

The darn internet came back on immediately.

This on top of a holiday weekend where I didn't once run out of work??? SO weird.

I usually gripe when I don't have work or can't, but I've been so tired lately, all I want to do is sleeeeeeeeeeeeep. On the one hand, it's too bad this hasn't been a normal holiday weekend for my line of work -- I'd be in bed right now. On the other, it's good for our family's budget if I can keep working. Guess I'll stop whining and get to editing more stuff.

Welcome, Welcome, Sunday Morning

The husband had to work yesterday daytime instead of last night (I don't know why they're messing with his sleep so bad ...), so he got to go to church today.

But first, he decided to cut his own hair. He needed it -- he was a bit shaggy. I helped trim around the edges and really should make him let me even it out a bit on top, but he's happy, he went to church, he even wrestled Little Mister during Sacrament meeting so I could listen. I'm not going to make waves.

Anyway. The last few weeks at church, Little Mister has gone up to any man wearing a suit or white shirt and tie and asked to be held. When Daddy came out of our bedroom, having shaved his beard and cut his hair, wearing a white shirt and tie, Little Mister *ran* for him and asked to be held. When we were walking from the car to the church (hush, I know the church is right next to the development, but we live in the back), Little Mister insisted on Daddy carrying him, and kept turning around to look at Daddy. He had to sit on his lap during Sacrament meeting, too, and wouldn't let Daddy out of his sight. It was SO cute.

After Daddy left after Sacrament meeting (he has to work tonight so needed more sleep), Little Mister didn't ask random strangers to hold him. YES!

*whine*

Um, this might be a TMI sort of post.

Ever since giving birth to my son, my sacrum and coccyx have caused me indescribable pain. Doctors and therapists have all supposed that it's the sacroiliac joint, but it's not: This is in between there, in the bone right in the middle, y'know, where Little Mister's head scraped down as he was being borned!!

My mommy sent me this wonderful pillow a long time ago which does help because it takes the pressure off the area.

But for some reason, I'm in excruciating pain tonight. I hope this isn't an omen for the rest of THIS pregnancy. Maybe I cooked too much yesterday or something.

Speaking of cooking, Little Mister has watched me measure and pour many things the last two days. (if you're my FB friend, sorry for the repeat). He went over to the pantry today and got out a plastic measuring cup and syrup, then walked to the living room. He sat on the floor and started trying to open the syrup. I'm thinking he was going to "measure" it out. And then probably drink it. We did manage to rescue the newly cleaned carpets from his determination, and he didn't even freak out too much. Yay.

Oh yay, I just got some work downloaded. Wahoo.

Gratitude

A lot of people on FB have been posting one thing they're grateful for every day this month.

I'm a cheater and doing all 30 at once. Mostly because a friend of mine had this posted as her facebook status the other day.

"Today I'm thankful that hubby and I are still employed. I know a lot of people right now who have lost their jobs, vehicles, and homes. So, no matter how much I may complain, I really am quite thankful."

And I realized I need to be more thankful and show that gratitude.

1. I, too, am thankful the husband and I are both still employed and we still have a home, a car that runs, and food on the table. All of our needs are met.
2. The Gospel. I'm thankful for our Savior, the Atonement, the restoration of the Priesthood, the Book of Mormon, temple covenants, etc.
3. My husband. He's not perfect, but neither am I. But we keep working through our problems and growing closer as a couple. Plus he bought me a steak and egg bagel for breakfast from McDonald's the other day when I really, really *needed* one.
4. My daughter. She's been very helpful lately and not complaining too much. She's made dinner a lot and is doing the dishes and laundry a lot, too. She comes home from school and plays with her brother and reads to him and has dance parties with him, and it really helps so I can rest when I need to. It's not her fault I'm pregnant, but she's sure pitching in and helping out! She also tells me silly stories and sings a lot and makes me laugh.
5. My son. He makes me smile every single day. He jabbers a lot in baby gibberish. He loves music and will point at the radio for us to turn it on so he can dance. He does silly and cute things that make us all laugh, like crawling around in circles and growling, or chasing Daddy through the house, or grabbing Kiddo's hand and holding it when she walks by while he's nursing ... He cuddles when he's sleepy and is sleeping in his crib for about 9 hours a night now, then sleeps with me a few more. So nice.
6. My step-daughter. She's been sending me little messages on MySpace, so I feel more connected to her than I have for a long time.
7. My parents. I'm not all that close to my dad, but my mom sure keeps me grounded. And not in the way she threatened when I was a teenogre.
8. My siblings and all the in-laws and extended family. I'm closer to some than others, but really do love them all and am thankful for their love and support.
9. My nieces and nephews on both sides. It's cute when one of them calls you to say hi, or when one calls your daughter to "chat". It's great to have friends in your family.
10. Washer, dryer, dishwasher, stove, microwave, refrigerator, vacuum ... all the lovely appliances we have today that make our lives easier.
11. Computers. They let me work from home and connect with friends, old and new, near and far, in various ways on the internet.
12. Drugs. Phenergan and hubby's psych meds, specifically.
13. Puffs Plus. In the early stages of pregnancy, I'm more congested, and since my baby shares everything with me, his cold and runny nose is now mine. Awesome. Puffs Plus save my nose.
14. Learning to coupon the last couple months. It has been a HUGE blessing. I'm spending less $ on groceries and have more food and other necessities (TP, Puffs ...) in the house. And I spent the same last weekend that I used to around Thanksgiving, but I got more stuff. lol.
15. The baby coming. This pregnancy was a surprise, but I'm excited for a new addition. Now we just need to sell the condo, find a rental, and get a minivan ...
16. Pudding. So weird because I'm sensitive to milk, but it's been settling my pregnant tummy. Go figure that one out.
17. Frozen pizza. Went to the store late last night, so I got home right at dinner time. But Freschetta was on sale and we had coupons, so I managed to make two for about $5.50, which is less than half what I would've spent at Little Caesar's, which is where I was tempted to go for dinner.
18. Music. I played a lot of different music growing up, in various different band, orchestra, and choir groups, and miss it a lot. I have this little boy who LOVES music and starts dancing whenever he hears it, and that makes me smile.
19. Light bulbs. The world would be a dimmer place without them.
20. Friends in the ward who host meetings while their kids are away, who don't mind that my snotty nosed baby swipes their baby's toys and sneeze on them, just say, "I'll wash them before the baby gets home." Awesome.
21. Apples, clementines, grapes ... all things fruit I can stomach right now.
22. Crafting with my Kiddo. We "got" to make some things last weekend to sell in her school's Christmas store next month after Little Mister went to bed.
23. Babywearing. I loved wearing Little Mister and am sure I'll be wearing this new baby a lot while I chase after a rambunctious 2-year-old.
24. Cookies. Red Vines. Basically anything sweet right now. (we think this baby is a girl because of this. oh, and meat makes me sick. just like with Kiddo, and just opposite from Little Mister.)
25. The husband waking up after two short hours of sleep the other day because Little Mister started shrieking while I was in the bathroom. His sister got too close to him right after he woke up from his nap. haha. Anyway. The husband calmed him down and handed him to me, then waited to make sure we were all okay before sneaking back to bed. Thank you, husband!
26. Sewing machines and cameras and yarn and knitting needles and crochet hooks and other artsy things that help me be creative.
27. Being busy. I don't love having too much on my plate, but I'd rather be busy and have stuff to do than not and be bored.
28. Getting half the child support refunded every month. Cali has done something screwy and is double garnishing the husband, so we've been getting multiple checks back every month, after he hits his $ obligation. Makes me less bitter about trying to save money. lol.
29. Good friends. You know the kind you can go weeks without talking to, but not because of a fight or anything, so when you do talk it seems like no time has passed at all.
30. Hot showers and baths, running water, plumbing, etc. Man ... I need a shower. I think I'll go take one!

I gave in.

I'm ashamed to admit it, but I gave in to the manipulation. When kiddo screamed, "You HATE me!" yet again, for the 5000th time today (slight exaggeration), I yelled right back. "You're right, I DO hate you!" She looked shocked. Thankfully. I said a couple of other things about how I don't really hate her, but don't like the behavior, and she left for a minute. When she came back, I also told her that when she accuses me of hating her, it hurts my heart and makes me cry and that I could never hate her. We talked about how you can like someone and not their behavior, and she said she has a boy in her class like that *to whom she has almost said the same thing I did to her!* so I know she knows the difference between loving someone and not loving their behavior.

At any rate, it was a bad night. Things just keep escalating. I don't know what to do with her, though I am trying.

And apparently it put me on edge because, though I usually try to avoid contention, debates, and confrontation, I got into a heated debate with a friend's friend on Facebook about universal health care, in which he may or may not have said Native Americans expect handouts from the government and in which I may or may not have called him and most white people "vanilla" and racist. Um ... I'm mostly white. lol

I need to finish work. Little Mister woke up, cried, and choked, and then I heard silence, so I had to check on him. He was fine, just settling down to sleep again, but I woke him right up. He's now awake watching Cars, so I have a good 15 minutes. Whee.

What a cutie

As we were leaving the school yesterday, my son in the stroller, my daughter walking beside me, and me on the phone with my dad, we came upon a little boy standing on the sidewalk whose mom was trying to get him and his sibling in a van. He was a cute kid. Then he stuck his hand out in front of him, looked at my son and yelled, "Stop!!!" Two or three times. So I did. I wasn't worried as to why he needed us to stop; he just looked kind of worried I'd run over him or get in his space. After he was sure we weren't going to hit him, he took his time and got in the van. I wasn't bothered or hassled by this -- we weren't in a hurry and all kids have their quirks.

His mom looked a bit frazzled and embarrassed and felt the need to apologize and explain. "Sorry! Autism."

I said, "Oh, he's just fine!"

Now, I've been thinking about it since we got to our car and got in. I could tell someone somewhere along the way hasn't been very understanding, maybe multiple someones. And I'm wishing I'd stopped and said, "Hang on," to my dad, so I could give her a hug and tell her what a good job she was doing.

So if you're the parent, caregiver, or loved one of a special needs child, consider this my virtual hug to you. You are doing an amazing job with your babies, doing one of the hardest jobs in the world. You have my admiration and respect, but more importantly, the love of your child.

Being sick blows

Except for one thing:

I caught up on google reader.

Some things I skimmed, others I read in full, others I read the most recent few entries and commented on them, then clicked "Mark all as read."

It's like having a clean living room or something.

Which I also have, thanks to the guy who cleaned my carpets this morning. If anyone in my area needs their carpets cleaned, lemme know. He was on-time, fast, got out all our stains (and didn't charge extra), and professional (and didn't comment on the disaster that exists in my kitchen!). Not to mention VERY affordable.

Now that I'm feeling somewhat better, I'm off to try making the husband some dinner before work, AND some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Let's hope I don't accidentally throw the pumpkin into his scallop stir fry. He would not be pleased.

Sticking to Plans

So, my niece has a play tonight, and we've been planning on going all.week. I started getting sick last night and really don't feel well, but we had to go to the store this morning so I don't have to brave the Turkey Day crowds next week. We stopped at Sonic on our way home from the store and I got her her own food plus a large fry to share. When I laid down for a nap with the baby, my instructions to kiddo were simple: Clean up the stairs (because she'd made a HUGE mess on them and we have someone coming to clean carpets on Monday), don't read (because she would rather read than do anything), save some fries for when your brother gets up, and don't wake me up. I told her that her cooperation now would help me feel better later so we could go to the play.

She didn't clean. She read. She ate all the fries. And she woke me up 3 times.

Then she got mad when she got in trouble and was told to clean anyway. I finally told her we were no longer going to the play because she wore me out and didn't mind, and she growled, "YES.WE.ARE." Um, no.

I carefully explained that she had already made the choices not to mind and woke me up and that I was not up to going since we'd been arguing and she'd made that choice.

She started whining and crying and said, "This is why I think you HATE me! I'm so stupid!" I told her to quit trying to manipulate me into taking her because it wasn't going to work. She tried a different tactic. "I haven't seen my cousins in FOREVER!" "Then you should have thought about that instead of making the other choices and not minding me."

This went on for about 5 minutes, and she finally "got" that I wasn't going to cave. Then she asked, "Can I earn it back?" "I don't know if you can or not. You're still not minding me."

At least she's doing her chores now.

Rant

I will preface this post by saying I do not love all things Twilight. The story intrigued me, yet the dramatic heroine and control freak of a hero bug me. The obsession of the fans about the main characters and actors portraying them?

Frightens me.

Seriously. How many women in their 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s are hot to trot after Jacob? He's played by a 17-year-old BOY! I realize Rob and Kristen are "of age" but the characters they play are 17 and 18.

And yet woman all over the country are swooning for these BOYS.

Not only do I not understand the obsession about a series that isn't that well written, but there is a HUGE double standard. If men were lined up around the country to see a teen movie put out by, oh, Selena Gomez or Taylor Swift or Hannah Montana or any young starlet, posing with life-size cutouts of the actresses with their arm around the cutout and hands all over the cutout, I bet most of these same women would be telling them how creepy they were for it. But it's "cool" for the women to do so and post pictures to their facebook pages, blogs, and anywhere else they can.

I.Just.Don't.Get.It.

Am I alone here?

I have several friends with little ones around Little Mister's age (i.e., 16 months).

An awful lot of them seem to be potty training their kids right now. Most of them are also expecting a new arrival before their toddler's second birthday.

I have no desire to even try. Boys typically train later than girls and, granted, most of these people do have girls.

BUT, this is why I think this isn't the best idea: Regression. With the arrival of a sibling, most newly-potty-trained kids regress, some to the point they are back in diapers full time.

Plus, it's much easier for your kid to wake up one morning and say, "No more diapers." They then potty train themselves in one day and you have only one or two accidents *ever* to clean up.

And yes, that is really how Kiddo did it. (I confess, we did talk about it an awful lot before that and had a "potty" book that made flushing sounds and a potty movie and panties already). She also weaned herself in one day at 17 months. She woke up, got in position for her morning nurse, patted my boob, and said, "No more." She got down, and that was that.

I only hope Little Mister has some of his sister's self motivation in these matters. After all, I am lazy and have failed miserably at trying to wean him thus far, let alone teaching him to go potty in the toilet!

oh wow ... stupid news

I don't watch the news on TV and filter what I read, and man, have I read some hilarious things lately.

If you're going to become a criminal, I guess I'd rather you had compassion for a crying baby than not.

Seriously, what sort of robber actually makes a bottle for a baby who lives in the house they're robbing? While they're robbing it?

In other "news," the American Fork McDonald's management has no sense of humor, getting teenagers arrested for rapping an order in the drive thru.

What the article doesn't tell you is that the management at Sonic in AF DOES have a sense of humor, because right after this story first broke, they put on their marquee something to the effect of, "Come rap your order here and get it free!"

ON half off clearance!

Stopped by to return the coats this morning, and saw the sign out front. That means they recently put more stuff on clearance.

I bought 2 pairs of pants for Little Mister, plus 1 pair of pants and 3 shirts for Kiddo, a dress for my baby niece (christmas, check!), and 2 pairs of sunglasses for me because mine keep hiding. Less than $28.

Love it!

The Italian Place

So, there's a sandwich place I passed on my way home from La Leche League (breastfeeding support group) last week. They are a cheesesteak place, supposedly. I've had cheesesteaks in Philly and they are delish, and I've had other wannabes that were good sandwiches, but not cheesesteaks.

I've had this craving for a cheesesteak, so I stopped and ordered one. It smelled SO good and looked good and had yummy-looking bread ... steak, onions, peppers, provolone ... everything that should make a great sandwich, right?

It was SO bad. It was covered in black pepper -- that's all I could taste. It burned my lips, mouth, and throat, and made me feel sick for hours afterward.

I emailed them because it really was that bad, and they said it's not like a Philly cheesesteak because they don't use cheez wiz (duh) and that, though it is a spicy sandwich, I probably got some meat that had been overseasoned during cooking.

News flash: There is a difference between "spicy" and "lots of black pepper."

Anyway. They're sending me a gift certificate to try them again. We'll see if/when I do. It might be 7 or 8 months ... lol.

Frustration

The husband says none of the coats will fit in his locker and to take them all back.

*sigh*

Some days I could spit. He never explained how small his locker was until after the sale was over, of course. Rawr. This all happened after a rough bipolar day. So glad he sees his doc again on Friday.

On a better note, Kiddo made dinner tonight (not that the small one would let me eat it -- it sounded good until it was done, looked good, smelled good, did not settle well). Baked BBQ chicken, baked sweet potatoes, and green beans. Good girl.

Little Mister let me actually change a dirty diaper tonight without trying to inspect himself. Woooo. Hope he continues.

Next Wednesday is the party for my high school choir. Looking forward to it, though I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to make the homemade chicken noodle soup I promised. Maybe I'll opt out. Yay for surprise pregnancies! heh.

Friday Fave Five!

1. Old Navy's half off outerwear sale: Bought a few online for the husband to try in tall sizes (which they don't carry in the store) and one for the little man. I'll just take back whatever doesn't work when they all get here. I bought one for Kiddo at Costco, but she hasn't seen it yet. bwahaha.

2. My mommy bought me a sleeved blankie that is better than a snuggie -- it's made of Minkee and is super soft ... so hopefully I can quit freezing at night while I'm working!

3. Little Mister didn't get hurt when he shattered a glass pan while I was making dinner. Whew.

4. Phenergan. It is helping a lot. Take it before bed and before naps and I'm mostly functional again, though do still get hit by waves of nausea.

5. I *finally* got a new secondary account at work. This is a big thing -- my text expander (a must in my line of work) won't work with the platform my old secondary went to, so they had to do something. Hurrah!

Car woes

Remember this post? Where they kept telling me my car wasn't overheating and screwed up installing stuff? FOUR MONTHS AGO?

They ended up replacing the radiator shortly thereafter. No more problems with overheating. Woo.

Then it was making creaking noises going over bumps. They had a hard time hearing it, until I took their quality control dude for a ride and showed him exactly what it was doing. They eventually figured out the lower and upper control arms needed to be replaced on one side, the upper on the other. I kid you not, less than one week after replacing just the upper on the one side, it started creaking again. They replaced the lower control arm on the other side. No more creaking.

About two weeks later, it started making a humming noise. Finally got the dude to go for (another) drive with me and he said, "oh, yeah, I hear that." Enter new wheel bearings on the front end. [the rear wheel bearings went out while it was still under factory warranty]. They replaced those today. The day they also informed me that my CV joint cover on the left is torn and they ordered a new CV joint, but it's on back order and won't be in for 2 or 3 weeks. Um, okay.

Let's just say, I won't buy another Chrysler product. The car started falling to pieces once it hit 48K, but I am SO glad I bought the extended service contract. ALL of this has been covered by it, so it has more than paid for itself, and we have about another 15K before it expires. Awesome.

Attitude Adjustment

So, as you know, I'm pregnant. I've been whining a lot and griping about it because it was a surprise to find myself pregnant and sick again. With my son, I happily anticipated him and, though I know I complained a bit, it was nothing like how I've been feeling and verbally expressing to my family with this baby! I am excited for the BABY, the END of the pregnancy, but have been very negative about being pregnant.

I finally realized how unhappy I was today while I was on the phone with DisGrace when I said, "I HATE being pregnant." she started laughing and said, "you need to figure out how to enjoy it, or you are going to be miserable for the next 6 or 7 months." Which is true, she should know, she was pretty miserable with her last baby! :P

Over the weekend, I had emailed with a ward friend and told her about the baby, but just that. I didn't let on to how I've been feeling (except the morning sickness). I just woke up from a nap to a beautiful message from her about how challenging pregnancy can be, but how full of miracles that first trimester is and how much gratitude she has for being able to experience it.

Man, I needed that. I AM thankful we didn't have to try for a long time and that I didn't have to take Clomid this time. And now I can be thankful for other things, thanks to the attitude adjustment I just got. Heavenly Father sure knew what I needed to hear today!

Sewing Saturday

A bust. I went to DisGrace's for a sewing day to try and help her get some of her projects finished. We made plans, forgot to buy zippers (for the projects...), and had to go to the store. Long story short, she got *ONE* button sewn onto *ONE* project. The end. That's a lie -- we did get some fabric cut out for the liner of another bag, but that's it. Really. We were there 3-1/2 hours.

KIDS. GRrrrrrr. None of them really wanted to cooperate today. *sigh*

Hopefully she can finish them now that we came up with a game plan for the projects. I'm hopeful I can finish mine soon, too. Along with the zillion other projects I need to do ...

On the bright side, my "hot hubby" went out and got Chinese for dinner tonight. It was good, but now the though makes me sick. Yay for pregnancy. Wahoo.

And, tomorrow is my kiddo's next to last primary program. I'm trying not to be emotional about it. It's not working. Again, yay for pregnancy. :/

Friday Fave Five

1. Finally feeling better! I've been sick for the past week with apparently an H1N1 mimicker virus, not actual H1N1 itself. It finally turned into a sinus infection yesterday so I'm finally on antibiotics. Love the PA -- he saw me Tuesday and when I called yesterday, he just called in the antibiotics. Save me another co-pay! lol.

2. Little Mister started saying "No" a lot, and "ow" when he wants attention or help. It's cute. He also says "cracker" and "cookie" but they sound the same.

3. Kiddo ran Dawn in the dishwasher instead of Cascade last night. I now have a sparkling kitchen floor and she's cleaned out the dishwasher, too. She cleaned up the floor without being told! Awesome!

4. Pheromones. Let's just say, going to the gym, even though I haven't lost any weight (because I'm PREGNANT) still has some benefits. hahahaha.

5. The gal at the fabric store was super friendly with Little Mister today, even though he would only say "no" to her. When my bag tore in the parking lot and my buttons fell out, she saw and brought me a new bag. Love good customer service. (I was NOT at Jo-Ann).